Whispering Pines Tea Company

My hubby and I had “second breakfast” this morning, since first breakfast came at 7:30 and we were both hungry again by 10:00, and this tea was selected to go with our bacon and eggs. I think I sweetened mine a teensy bit too much, but truthfully, the rich sweetness was a rather perfect mesh with the heavy flavors of the peppery bacon. I fully intend to re-steep this one. Simply put, this chai is perfection. I will be restocking this one.

Went for this one out of my Whispering Pines box this morning. Feeling like I need a comforting tea. Morning just came too early… and I’m a morning person. But I could have easily slept another two hours, were it not for the 11-month-old climbing all over me.

Anyway, I’m so glad to get to try this one, because someone FINALLY did it: made a chai with a Yunnan Dian Hong, instead of Assam or Ceylon like you see most chais made with. (If there’s another company that’s done it before now, I haven’t found them.) This must be a new tea, because I had to add it to Steepster’s database. First review, what what?? XD #isadork

The loose leaf smells great! The first thing I smell is the cardamom, then the cloves, and then the cinnamon. Can’t quite smell the Dian Hong over those very strong spices, but hey, I like my spices to have some staying power.

Anyway, I made this the way I’ve been brewing chai nowadays, a little closer to the traditional way, but still pretty American—two parts water and one part milk. Basically, I steeped it for a while in less water than normal so it would be nice and strong, then filled the cup the rest of the way with milk. I will eventually try this the fully traditional way, but the husband currently has all our stock of paper tea bags, and he’s three hundred miles away. Might have to break down and use one of our tea balls. I digress.

Oh, man. This is soooo good. I might even venture to prematurely propose that this might be my new favorite chai. I don’t like chais with anise, and this one has none. It’s made with my favorite type of black tea. It ‘s spicy and rich and robust and not astringent. I kind of hope the cardamom mellows out a little with age, ’cause right now, it’s kind of taking over, but we’ll see. I’m still thoroughly enjoying it. Kudos, Brendan!

Edit: So, on a whim, I tried resteeping. I didn’t have high hopes, because resteeping chai hardly ever works, right?

Well, this one works! :D

Mmmm, spicy, fruity, yum! I am not quite certain exactly what elderberries taste like, so I can’t really identify if I’m tasting it now or not, but there is definitely a berry-ish quality to this tea that could possibly be them. Regardless, it has a deliciously thick mouthfeel and a wonderful spicy bite from the cinnamon and chicory. Well worth the money! I will be going to this one in the evening, especially when it’s cold.

I got home last night from going visit my husband (sooo needed that, I miss him so much), and my order from Whispering Pines was waiting for me! So, naturally, I busted it open first thing this morning, and this one was calling my name.

I thought I would break from my usual steeping method and do what it says on the package (although I used more water than it said to). The brew smells VERY nutty, with a slight hint of charcoal, like the nuts were just a teensy bit scorched.

Mmm, I’m getting a heavy hit of that roasted nut flavor that I love in dark oolongs. This is warming me to my toes on this rather chilly morning. After sipping a while, it doesn’t get astringent or too dry in the mouth. It’s not what I would call “juicy,” but it definitely is not drying, so I appreciate that. I’m enjoying it very much. It’s not something that I will go for very often, probably, knowing the type of teas that I tend to gravitate toward , but when I am in the mood for it, I will be very glad I have it. :)

Edit: The second steep was just as good as the first, and I even got some hints of chocolate, which combined with the nuttiness made it taste like almond bark or Nutella. :) Yum !

I was very surprised to pop open this pouch to find that this tea smelled like roasted seaweed. It’s not fishy, but is definitely reminiscent of dried seaweed pieces. The leaves are tightly curled and very dark. So pretty! After the tea has steeped, I’m smelling much more of a roasted note with a bit of bread and seaweed in the background. There is also a touch of smoke, but it’s quite subtle.

Sipping… this is a very smooth tea. I suppose in my experience, the roasted oolongs I’ve had have been a bit more astringent and sharp. This one is quite nice. The flavor reminds me of toast that has been almost burned mixed with a heavy earthy note, minerals and salt water. The finish is smooth with just a tiny bit of grassy sweetness. I can see why this was called “Dark Chocolate Oolong,” but I think the new name is much more fitting as I personally don’t taste much dark chocolate. This was a very interesting cup for this afternoon, but not one that I will repurchase.

mmmm… blissful sigh

This is my first tea from Whispering Pines kindly sent by Dexter3657.
I didn’t find it in the database.
It is a classic Taiwanese Oolong, not bad but not unforgettable neither.
There is an aftertaste I cannot really describe and which is just absolutely weird for an Oolong, a mix of fruits notes and ? something else, the X element…mystery.

Sipdown!
I love how the subtle pine blends in beautifully with the buttery green tea base and scent of jasmine. I think I’ve mentioned before that I generally dislike jasmine because I often find it overwhelming for me, but I’m really glad I gave this a try because everything is wonderfully blended.

An Ode to Tea challenge #2– F

additional notes:  I think the age of this tea inspired Brenden to start writing “discontinued” on the names of Steepster teas… umm, ahem, years ago.  Finally finishing it now.  I haven’t had many Formosa oolongs over the years, usually they aren’t to my liking, but this one was decent enough.  If I must drink a charcoal type of tea, this is good one to have. Charcoal, but also subtly more than that. My original note says it tastes like hojicha and wow, guess I haven’t had any hojicha in a long while. However, is ANY type of Formosa oolong a cupboard staple?  Probably not.   But a Whispering Pines Formosa Oolong?  It was probably the best of its kind. 
2021 sipdowns:  94

Another one from Dexter3657! thanks so much! I think I liked this one more than others if the Steepster rating says anything, even though I probably shouldn’t have, since this is usually the sort of tea I don’t really like. One teaspoon, a few minutes after boiling, for two minutes. It tastes like a hojicha mixed with a Fujian tea, with the charcoal flavors, also a tiny bit like Laoshan Black. (I really shouldn’t be comparing it to that one all the time, as I realize not everyone has tried that one. And even different harvests would make a difference.) So it is certainly an odd mix of flavors here. I don’t need a ton of teas like this in my collection, but I will certainly enjoy the remainder of this sample whenever I would like a tea like this.

au revoir tea! having a couple warm cups this evening while i wait for dinner to finish up in the slower cooker. Really enjoy this herbal from WP.

last tea of the evening. Rather enjoyed having this one last night while reading before bed and figured i’d make it a repeat. :)

Final Count: 124

Evening tea after a long day or work. Someone mentioned this tea as a good tea for being sick so i pulled it out, not so much for the sick factor but because i really enjoy this one. Time to curl up and do a little reading before hopefully, an earlier bed time.

Final Count: 129

Tea from this evening, my other half has been sick and I think he shared it with me so i wanted something to help relax before bed tonight. this one does the trick nicely! and then tomorrow..we tackle the tea box! and some other samples :)

Just wish my smaller bags had arrived :(

Final Count: 136

noms! I have thoroughly enjoyed this one. Made a cup of this after dinner – my other half is going to be working most evenings this week so i’m on my own a lot. I really like that this is sweet with a kick of spicy. I’ll be picking up more of this in future – I really like this type of tea in the evenings while reading a book or relaxing.

mmmmm having a grand cup of this with a splash of honey to smooth out the edges!

mmmmm this is fun and tasty. I like the spicy edge to it that makes it interesting. Really glad that folks have been awesome and let me try out a number of WP teas before i went to place an order (there are a bunch of you! so thanks!) it’s like an echo of sichuan caravan…only not because it’s a totally different tea and has no puerh lol but there’s something there that reminds me of it while being very much it’s own tea :)

Final Count: 96

goodness…i’m sloshy. missB sent this my way and it might be the first whispering pines tea that i really like. I blame the ginger, which seems to be my weakness in teas. I love that spiciness that it brings to the table. Always leaves me wanting more! more! I chose this one as my final cup for the evening in the hopes that it would relax me a little and help clear my head before bed. I’ve been fighting off getting sick for a few days now and i’m really trying to NOT get sick. This is making for a great evening cup though. Thanks MissB!

Final Count: 190 (sooo 6 sipdowns a day = reaching my goal for the end of the month…likely not going to happen..but maaaaybe if i work from home a couple days…maybe… heh)

Forgot that this is a ‘smoky’ tea, all I knew was that it was calling to me today, asking me to drink it. First smell and sip were all smoke, and continued throughout. I only get a touch of something sweeter occasionally, and I guess there’s some cocoa in here, although it’s more smokey, almost bacon-y than anything.

Unsure what I was expecting, however this is very different than my mood today. I think I need to let this sit so I can think about it more, once I’ve finished a few errands.

Sipdown!
I normally don’t like jasmine in my tea, but the mint really helps balance out the floral aspect. Very calming.

This is one of my favorites to cold brew; it’s very refreshing.

I really had high hopes for this tea – since I love rooibos and ginger – yet the combination together came out tasting a lot more like cough syrup than either one. There was a bit of a ginger burn at the back end of each mouthful, but nothing appealing really appeared, no matter how long I sipped at it.

This is another one that I didn’t really manage to enjoy, so it went down the drain as well.

thanks so much Miss B for this sample!

oh my…. it and i are NOT compatible! too much smoke. i couldn’t finish my cup and i didn’t even do a full length steep =0(

i really wanted to love it. i love the back story….. sigh. me and my weird sensitivities!

This one is very smooth, slightly sweet and has many different notes, earthy, smooth, sweet, cocoa and vanilla notes and presence of a slight leather type notes that is rather pleasant.
Nice solid puerh :)